Happy New Year! 2010 has been a busy one, though it has meant that I have neglected writing on kitchen window a bit. I received this 2010 Year in Review from WordPress, and I found it interesting. It’s also motivated me to continue to post on this site throughout 2011. I have been thinking of great things to post including new recipes, events in Miami, information on arts productions around the world, and everyday info that I have come across, so look forward to postings about those topics in 2011. In case you’re interested in checking out what I’ve been up to in 2010, here are some of the projects I’ve been working on: Mapping Miami, the Miami Art Salon, founding Blackbird Arts and Research, being an artist-in-residence at the Deering Estate, my dissertation research about art, Miami, and the Caribbean, Yelping, and overhauling my personal website.

Thanks for reading kitchen window! Here’s the 2010 Year in Review:

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 6,500 times in 2010. That’s about 16 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 13 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 166 posts. There was 1 picture uploaded, taking a total of 831kb.

While packing up our old place and getting it super, squeaky clean, I found the tips from Real Simple Magazine to be extremely helpful. I had picked up a copy on a recent trip (it’s the magazine I like to read on airplanes), and thought the simple tips would come in handy during our move. They did!

Some of my favorites:
1. to get off scuff marks – make a paste of baking soda and water. then, using a cloth rub the paste onto the mark until it is gone. then wipe down with a damp cloth. done! so easy and so fast!

2. water and vinegar clean everything. really! put a mixture (50/50) in a spray bottle and get cleaning. counters, floor boards, walls…this will get it clean.

3. wd 40 gets off those black scuff marks on floors. spray on and wipe it off with a cloth. you may have to use some elbow grease for this one, but at least those marks will come off.

4. get the tile in the kitchen floor sparkling with a big bucket of soapy water and a large scrub brush. simple, classic, and effective. the magazine also suggested using cream of tartar and lemon to clean grout.

After all that I am happy to report we received our entire security deposit back after we moved out!

You need a day off like mac needs cheese. Get it. Now. Describe in 50 words or less how you’d spend your ideal day off. The editors’ favorite entrant will then live out his or her perfect day, courtesy of Samsung Glyde (the winner gets the phone, too). Wit, desperation, honesty — the approach is up to you. On your mark, get set, go!

Are you traveling this summer? As an artist and anthropology grad student, the summer is the time when I am in and out of town doing research, meeting other artists, and working on new ideas. For part of this summer I’ll be in a place where I won’t be able to run to the corner store to buy an item I may have forgotten. That means a lot of planning ahead. Here are some of my recent finds:

tide sink packs: I usually bring a little container filled with woolite so I can do small loads of laundry in the sink. It always spills! I was thrilled to see these at Target yesterday. They are individual Tide “sink packs;” each packet contains enough for one sink-full of laundry.